Ouroboros
by BellEccentric
Summary: Naru is back form England and all is well. Or is it? What if a new case not only places the whole team in danger but also brings to light secrets that Mai has desperately tried to hide from them for their own protection.
1. Chapter 1

**_Pain, suffering, death._**

**_Words that no child should know but because of special circumstances I am more than well acquainted with. Bloodstains are forever carved in both soul and memory and the painful stains are invisible to others but all so clear to me in my hands because of the horrors that I have committed, but in between it all there is still a hope. A small glimmer that refuses to die no matter how hard I have tried to squash ruthlessly from my mind and how much this world has proven me otherwise it is still present within me. A hope that I can protect my loved ones. Normally your first childhood memory would be of being held by your parents, a happy memory, that will help you through the hard times that lie ahead._**

**_Not everybody is that lucky._**

**_There are some of us that know the hardships of this world. There is no good or evil. There is a shade of gray in this world, there is survival, desperation, and despair. Those unlucky ones are not blinded by the world. The secrets that are carefully hidden to the public and the nativity they posses is astounding. I am happy for them. They will never know the pain that I have experienced and that is something that I am willing to protect, so that their unsoiled hands can stay that way and those of us that are damaged beyond repair can protect them._**

**_My first memory is of my father's death. For the first time in my life I understood loss. The burning in the back of my throat as I tried to stop the bile from coming out and the sting in my eyes as I fought back the tears. My mother running away with me, trying to protect me from my father's mistakes. Later, the madness that consumed her because of my own stupidity and the astounding guilt that flooded me every time I would lay my eyes on her. My poor fragile, delicate, precious mother that I tried to protect till the very end but was useless all the same._**

_"YOU'RE NO CHILD OF MINE GET OUT!"_

_Quickly I left before she could do any more damage. Closing the door softly behind me I slid down the door and kept my misty eyes from shedding a single tear. It had been years since I had cried, the last time being when my father was murdered before my eyes at the age of five, and now at the age of ten my heart has been hardened beyond repair._

_I winced and looking down I saw that my side was bleeding, probably from the lamp that she threw at me, and I was more than positive that both my arms and face were matted with bruises. Sighing I began the painfully stand up while gathering support from the door handle._

_Hearing footsteps I looked up to the kind face of the maid. With beautiful long hair that reached her waist and porcelain features, she looked like a beautiful doll. She was also the person I considered my best friend and confidant._

_"Mai why do you keep going in there? You know she does this every time you go in there! Let the staff take care of her, she only gets violent with you, I care too much about you to see you like this every day."_

_"I'm sorry Keiko but she's my mother and she's like this because of me. S-she's all I have left."_

_"Mai all I'm say-"_

_BANG!_

_Keiko's eyes widened in fear and slowly she turned towards me and yelled, "Run! Get out of here, they found us!"_

_Heart beating in my throat I yanked the door open and slammed it shut behind me, barricading both my mother and I from the rest of the house. Fighting to control my breathing I tried to focus my thoughts._

_Grab mom._

_Get out._

_Run._

_Find somewhere safe._

_Turning around I spotted her curled up in the couch where I had left her paying no mind to the screams that could be clearly be heard from outside the closed and locked doors._

_"Mom get up we need to go!"_

_Looking at me blankly for a second she resumed staring at the wall paying me no mind. Frustrated and gritting my teeth I tried to even out my breathing. Patronizing her or saying the wrong thing could get us both killed, myself at her hands or both of us by those monsters outside._

_Think, Mai, how can we both survive this?_

_BANG!_

_Too late just grab her and run!_

_Escape, flee, anything! Heart beating on my throat I ran towards my mother and hauled her up from the couch dragging her towards the fireplace. Fingers moving frantically around the fireplace I finally found what I was looking for. Pushing the brick that gave away to a hallway I tried to push her towards the entrance but I was met with resistance._

_"Mom we don't have time for this! Just get in there!"_

_"They're here."_

_The single sentence had me whirling around to face her in shock. She hadn't spoken a word to me since the accident and this was the first time I had heard her voice in three years._

_"The ones who did this to me. The ones who took __**him**__ away! They're trying to hurt my Mai too!"_

_With clear eyes she turned to look at me and smiled sadly while saying sadly "I love you Mai. Don't ever forget that take care of yourself I'm sorry for being selfish but I am going with your daddy. Stay safe honey and don't look back."_

_Suddenly I felt myself being flung into the fireplace at the same time that the doors were violently flung open. Whirling around I stepped from behind my mother and pushed her behind me and towards the fireplace, secluding her behind me and away from danger, there was absolutely no way that she would sacrifice herself for me once again. I refuse! Looking up I saw __**them**__; the people who had killed my father in cold blood and in extension were here to tie all loose ends._

_They were all dressed in deceivingly normal clothes for the killers that they were. They surrounded the room two on each side and one in the middle facing me directly. The man in the middle was wearing a red shirt almost as a mocking reminder of the bloodshed that usually followed him along with black jeans and shoes, but the most distinctive feature about him were his eyes. Dark black eyes that seem to be an endless reminder of murder, unhappiness, and most hauntingly, death. Hardened features surrounded the soulless eyes and an exact shade of black as his eyes was imitated in his hair._

_The most important thing to all of this was that they were all armed with guns and they were pointed directly at us._

_"Yoshido," I said directly at the middle, with as much venom in my voice as I could muster._

_"You know, it took much longer than we thought to locate you and let me tell you that with our resources that's an accomplishment I am willing to give to you Mai, because lets be honest, your mother is nothing but a shell of her old self," he chucked and continued, "Now when we killed your father we thought to just kill the whole family but then imagine our surprise when we found your fathers notes on what he did to you."_

_No, my mind screamed, now they know everything and they will never leave you alone!_

_"You my little Mai are a mine of gold! What we been trying to accomplish all these years, failure after failure and I had almost given up!"_

_"You should have, you sick bastard!"_

_Laughing cruelly at me he continued, "We can make this world a better place Mai. If only you help us reach this greatness Mai, we can leave your mother be but only if you choose to cooperate."_

_Mind whirling I thought about the proposal. We could stop running and hiding all the time. Keiko would finally be…..Keiko!_

_"Where is Keiko?!"_

_"Oh the servant girl that follows you around everywhere, she's still alive."_

_"Prove it!"_

_Sighing and looking at me like an adult indulging a child he turned to one of the men to his right and nodded once. He immediately left the room and a painful groan could be herd from the other side of the door along with the sound of something, or someone, being dragged from the floor. The doors reopened and what I saw broke my heart, she was being dragged by her arms and Keiko's once beautiful and clean features were now marred with blood with her head bowed down and breathing harshly._

_"You sick monster!" a shout was heard from behind me._

_Until this moment I had completely forgotten that my mother was behind me. Grabbing me from my upper arm she flung me to the floor while at the same time a gunshot was heard. After that everything seemed to pass in a blur. Scrambling towards my mother I completely ignored the men behind me I was somehow able to reach her. She was laying face down and with a push I flipped her over. Blood was slowly dripping from her mouth she winced in pain and her eyes, so similar to mine, focused on me and gave me a weak smile. Patting her frantically I found the wound; it was located right at her heart. It was obvious from the amount of blood gushing out of the wound that she wasn't going to make it._

_My eyes stung with tears of frustration. Once again she was suffering and it was my fault._

_"You shouldn't blame yourself for this Mai I did this because I love you and no mother should see her daughter die before her."_

_Without another word she slowly closed her eyes and just simply __**died. **__There was no shudder no cry to indicate her passing and no obvious revelation that she was gone after our five years of hiding. Head pounding I looked up, rage building up within me, wanting nothing else but to hurt these bastards. No, not only hurt, but to kill! A emotion that I was not accustomed to and I embraced it fully not wanting to deny the giant monster screaming for revenge within me._

_Before I could even think of doing anything at all I felt an arm wrap securely around my waist and the last thing I felt as I succumbed to darkness was a cloth being pushed to my face and smelling a strange scent._

Breathing harshly I scrambled out of bed sweaty and cursing profusely at the alarm clock I took a moment to gather myself and breathe normally. I hadn't dreamt of the past in a while and it gave me a dark sense of foreboding deep within me and the pessimistic side of me whispered in my ear, _its because you deserve to remember, remember that all of your family is dead and its ALL because of you, how does it feel like to be a murderer_?

In. Out. In. Out. Breath Mai that's in the past and there is nothing you can do to change it. You can only move forward from now on.

I had a family now that I had begrudgingly let into my heart, not counting my happy exterior. In truth I was as weary of them as anyone else I had ever met.

Smiling grimly, the image of them all standing together popped into my mind. Naru with his ever-present blank expression firmly in place, Lin with a nonchalant stance along with Ayako hitting Monk with her purse and him with an annoyed expression and John trying to calm them down while Yasu and Masako just ignored them all.

They were the family that I protected now without reservations and of course there was no way they would ever learn just how far I had gone to protect them. Even Naru that jerk. Especially after my failed love confession even though it was the last thing that I had wanted to do.

Unwillingly the memory resurfaces bringing me back painfully three years ago in the airport.

_"Naru you can't get on that plane!"_

_"Oh," he said raising an eyebrow condescendingly at me "why shouldn't I? I have what I came here for."_

_My heart constricting and throat closed up was preventing me from revealing the truth I blurted what came to mind._

_"Because I love you!"_

_Eyes widening I looked at him in disbelief. I couldn't say what was the real problem but I also couldn't lie. That meant…..no! I can't fall in love! This is the worst thing to happen to me!_

_"Do you love me, or gene?" and without another word he whirled around and walked away like what I had said didn't mean anything to him._

_That bastard! He didn't know but it was all the same. Didn't he know that by me saying that I loved him was making my world crash down?_

_Breathing heavily I felt a hand clamp painfully on my shoulder._

_"So you love him? Interesting Mai, I might just blow up the plane for fun now, I didn't even think you could be possible of __**love**__ of all things."_

_"We had a deal Yoshido, you leave them alone __**all of them**__, and you get your toy back."_

_"But this would be soo much more interesting don't you think? Oh well I guess I just have to settle down with making you suffer for a long time since a deal is a deal."_

I had given up the freedom that I had fought for so many years to obtain but one threat to them and it had all gone to hell.

I couldn't risk them getting hurt because of me.

It didn't matter because I had escaped once again and keeping under the radar for about a year now and, at 19, I was free from them completely.

Squinting at the alarm clock that had woken me up so rudely I looked at the blurry red numbers and squinted a bit so I could make sense of the time: 8:30. Shit! I'm thirty minutes late; Naru is going to kill me! So without further thought to my dreams, dark thoughts, and lost and regained freedom I picked myself off the bed and went about my hectic routine of getting ready.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone! I'm so happy with the response that I am getting and thank you to all of you who reviewed/followed/favorite the story. You guys are freaking great! Muahahaha (too much?) I just finished my last exam and as a reward I am writing the second chapter to my story because lets be honest those exams killed me and I need an out from my self induced food coma and Netflix marathon after I decided to drop out of college and become a hobo. Lol I'm kidding. (I think) **

**CHAPTER REVISON 3/23/15 PLEASE REREAD THIS CHAPTER!**

When Mai breathlessly barged into the door of SPR, an hour late, the first thing that she noticed was the glare directed at her form the couch. If looks could kill she would have died a million deaths and the one who had graced her with such determined icy glare was none other that Naru who was surrounded by the whole team. The atmosphere was tense and oppressive and I wondered if I was finally in for it.

"So Mai you thought that being an hour late was acceptable?" Naru bit out thru clenched teeth.

"What's going on guys?" I asked slowly as I hung up my purse on the coat rack and approached them with caution.

"We have a new case," Monk replied.

"Which you would have known about if you would have been _on time _Mai," Naru said with resignation coloring his voice.

This put me on edge immediately. Naru never passed up an opportunity to argue with me. It was how we interacted and if he was ignoring the fact that I was late and then adding the tense atmosphere, which you cut with a feather, it meant that something was seriously wrong.

Sitting down next to Monk I glanced at him expectantly and without waiting on another cue he enlightened me on the tense atmosphere, "but that's not all, it's a very dangerous case that could possibly put us all in danger which is the reason we need to decide if we really are prepared for this kind of case."

"To fill in Mai and spare her feeling stupid, I'll fill her in," Naru said while opening a case file he had placed on the coffee table.

"The case was brought to me by my father and for understandable reasons he has passed it on to Madoka so that we could take it since the case is in Osaka and my father, at the moment, is unable to give this case his full attention when he has a case study of his own back in England and thus unable to attend."

"Now this case is strictly confidential and as such I don't think I need to stress the fact that anything that is said in this office cannot be spoken of except of those that have been authorized."

"The building used to be an old government facility that would train individuals for undercover missions. What these undercover missions entailed will not be disclosed to us at this moment for security reasons. What I can tell you is that they were highly dangerous and only select few governmental officials even had access to these files. The building in question is approximately ten stories high and has some underground facilities that are yet to be explored. The place was recently shut down due to uncovered evidence stating that the facility had started using children as training subjects and rampant unauthorized activities."

"Moving on to actual supernatural activity there has been reports of moving objects, unexplained noises such as a piano playing in the distance even though there is no piano that we can locate, and several of the staff have reported unexplained bruises on their arms, backs, and necks. Now here is where it gets tricky. There has been a previous paranormal research group that has been asked to investigate the establishment but after the death of two of their members they decided to withdraw. After reading through the files and an interview with the head investigator of the last team I have concluded, and confirmed, that the two who were attacked possessed supernatural abilities and as thus we are dealing with an entity with a penchant for hurting those with abilities."

"Now," he said looking around "considering the circumstances each and every one of you need to really consider if you are willing to put yourself in harms way because you most certainly will be if you decide to join. If you decide that you do not want to be a part of this I will not hold it against you as this is a very dangerous case and hesitation will most likely do more harm that good and if that is the case I highly encourage you to reconsider taking on this case."

"So you have already decided to go," Ayako stated because it was obvious that Naru would be taking the case. He wouldn't have bothered to even mention it if he hadn't.

This isn't good, I thought, this is sounding too similar but I cannot show that this is affecting me in any way. I need to gather as much information about the situation and then decide if this is what I think it is or if I am merely being paranoid.

"Yes, Lin and I have decide to take on the case but it is up to you if you decide to join us. I do not have all of the information because only those actively participating in the investigation will be privy to the information. Those who will participate will have to sign a nondisclosure form in about an hour from now with two representatives from our client. They will come to confirm our participation so those who do not wish to continue should leave before they arrive."

"This is dangerous guys I don't think that we should be doing it," Monk said looking around at everyone.

The grim looks on everyone's faces were encouraging to me; maybe they will all back down.

"I'll be going I don't think it's right to leave a ghost to wander without direction, they just need to be shown to a better path," Masako said form behind her kimono sleeve looking resolute.

_No! _

As one the rest of the members gave the affirmative and not having a choice I simply nodded once as I look at Naru. Sighing he nodded back at me and as thought the nod had been a signal the bell on the door jingled signifying it was opening.

There, dressed in official all black suits, were two men. They couldn't have looked more different if they had tried with them looking as though one was daylight and the other night. The one on the right had blond hair that seem to have a mind of its own, haphazardly laying in every which way with kind features and bright blue eyes that seem to scream sunshine, while the man on his left had hard features that seem to be stuck prematurely on a scowl while his hair and eyes were a matching midnight black.

Smiling brightly at them, the man with the blond hair spoke, "Hello everyone, my name is Daichi and my partners name is Minaru, we are part of the National Police Agency or NPA for short. Are we to assume that everyone has agreed to the nondisclosure form?" he asked.

Without waiting for a reply he and his partner sat down on the opposite couch and made themselves comfortable. The man with the scowl on his face, Minaru, continued while pulling out a folder from a suitcase that had gone unnoticed from everyone until now "These are the forms that need to be signed and we will wait until everyone is finished signing them before we are continue."

Looking down at he document that John had passed to me I began reading the document. Among the usual nondisclosure clauses of silence and the normal fines, even if they were ridiculously high, there among the list was something cleverly hidden and something that I had not expected.

"Incarceration within the facility?" I asked coldly.

Everyone except Naru and Lin looked up in surprise, having not read the contract thoroughly before reaching for a pen to sign it.

"Yes," Minaru said, "there is a lot of information that is highly sensitive that can be unknowingly shared and is highly dangerous even if it's between inmates."

Scowling at the man I signed the form and handed it back.

"Now that everyone has signed we are going to fill you in on the details of the investigation. The facility in which you will be transported will be in Osaka, you will be able to make your own way to your destination and if not there will be vehicles that can be arranged for your convenience. Now while you will be investigating the case there will also be other teams of paranormal researchers that will be present not actively working on the extermination of the ghosts but on other duties that have to be taken care of. "

" In order for you to really understand the facility that you will be investigating we need to give you the history of how it came to be. The Japanese government funded this particular facility and its scientist with he purpose of finding better ways to make clean and reusable energy that could be used indefinitely and would, one day, replace the energy source that we now use. As you can expect this particular project was given the highest level of confidentiality because if successful Japan would benefit in an innumerable amount of financially ways as, with time, every country would want to switch to the new energy source, that even though highly expensive when purchased, would greatly save the economy of the country within five years. Japan as it's creator would not only have it's selling rights but also the only supplier and our economy would not only clear us of any debt but would set us high enough in the international hierarchy but we would have the other countries in our debt."

"Unfortunately it seems that we set out sights a little too high because in the end it was impossible for the scientist to forge a new energy source. There was always one element that seemed to be missing. It wasn't until one day when a scientist by the name of Yoshido Matsuo managed by pure desperation to uncover a certain gene within human beings that would stimulate the proficiency of strength, memory, and over all ability of an individual. In the beginning they tried to use this gene in contained doses in order to make this new energy source but in the end it proved fruitless. This is where the NPA got involved in all of this mess. We believed that if injected to some of our officers we could improve and facilitate training in new recruits and the results were incredible."

"As expected the once peaceful mission of the facility took a severe turn and became a bioweapons research center. Yoshido, along with a team of his most trusted scientists, made an expansion of the gene and made it into a drug to administer within those select few that the government had pre-approved but despite their great accomplishment they kept on trying to make a breakthrough that nobody but themselves knew. "

"Now the information we are about to give you was not fully disclosed to us until years later and it was a breach of security on our part but you need to understand that it has been handled. We found out that one of the scientist under Yoshido's command managed to make the breakthrough that they needed. The name of that man was Kenji Nakagawa. He managed to not only find a way to expand the effects of the drugs but also managed to pinpoint the best candidates for the drugs. He figured that those individuals with the gene had a descendant with "psychic" abilities and wondered what would happen if he would directly inject the drug not into a descendant but into a active "psychic." The results, he found, we horrendous."

"Not only did the drug expand their physical attributes to something unparalleled, their psychic powers were tripled in power and intensity. That in itself wouldn't have been considered horrendous but when Yoshido found out of the results he quickly wanted to bring in more subjects and continue to experiment. Yoshido then not only perfected the drug but also expanded on the knowledge that those with prime endurance were children between the ages three to seven. Kenji when he figured out what Yoshido was doing destroyed his research, greatly crippling the project and then left the research facility. To this day we do not know what has happened to him as he went into hiding and has never been heard of again."

"Yoshido, years later, was somehow able to start up the project again and under false birthdays managed to place children as study subjects. He called them Shadow Children, due to the fact that with their psychic powers and the administrated drug they were able to slip in and out of whatever mission they were given. It didn't matter if they were assassinations on high profile clients with impeccable protection they could slip in and out without any trouble. The government, unknowingly thinking that they were regular agents, used them for a long while not knowing that the shadow children were just that, children, and they were not shut down until one and a half year ago when it was discovered the farce for what it was. The facility, otherwise known as Ouroboros, has been on lockdown since then and when our men tried going inside the facility there was an immediate resistance."

"It was brushed off in the beginning as nonsense until agents started getting hurt. When the paranormal team was brought in it seemed to calm down slightly until it escalated to the deaths of two of their members, afterwards, they, understandably, decided to withdraw from the investigation and we needed a new paranormal group that would be able to get rid of the problem."

"Now, there is also the situation with the underground facility, we have been unable to open the elevator doors that will get us down their and the stairs are in the same condition. We do not know what we will find down their and for that purpose my partner and I will have to be present at all times to ensure your safety when we do manage to get to the underground levels. The shadow children, when found, managed to disappear into nothing but the few of the ones that remained behind have been trying to help us penetrate the lower division of Ouroboros. We are trying to figure out where the rest of them are but so far the shadow children that we do know of refuse to give any sort of information on them and we must respect their wishes despite what we may think. They have gone through enough as it is. Many of them are diagnosed with PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, along with depression, and anxiety so its best if you keep out of their way if you don't know how to deal with the situation. I know this is a lot to take in but we will be counting on all of you to complete your job."

Daichi smiled gently at the teams' shocked faces before he continued where his partner had left off, "You are expected to be on the site in two days and will begin the investigation as soon as you are settled down. There will be three rooms designated for your convenience so you can decide who will sleep with who and there will also be a base for you to set up any equipment that you may need but we have been told that there is already some sort of surveillance system already set up throughout the whole building but you can bring whatever you think will be necessary. Pack for a long-term mission and be prepared to be evaluated by psychiatrists throughout the investigation to see if you are mentally prepared to proceed with the investigation. Once you start seeing things that civilians are not prone to experiencing further evaluations will be made."

"I believe that is all for now," Minaru stated, "we will be taking our leave for now and we will see you in a couple of days," and with that both he and Daichi stood up and left leaving a stunned paranormal research group behind.

While everyone else was lost to the horrors that they had just been told I tried to keep my calm and not show any outward reaction to anything that had been said. The more information that came out of both detectives the more I had to control myself from having an outburst and making everyone suspicious. _Everything is fine Mai if it all works the way we plan it they will never have to learn anything! Calm down! If there is something that you should have learned in that place is how to shut your emotions down and not __**feel**__ anything._

With that in mind I forcefully slowed my wildly beating heart and evened out my breaths to that of a sleeping rhythm. The sweat that had begun to gather on both my brow and upper lip immediately dried and my pupils dilated back, from fully blown, a tale-tale sign of fear to their normal size. What they had said wasn't the whole story, which meant that the others had said nothing and that they were blindly grasping at the facts that they had found and come to their own conclusion. That was ok we were never there to inform them of anything. The more they remained in the dark the better it was for everyone involved and the public in general. The only immediate threat was when they mentioned that they were trying to reach all of us and all though we had all taken extreme measures to become untraceable if they looked deep enough they would find us all and bring us all back into that hell hole.

"As you heard, this is not going to be a easy case so I want all of you to go back home to rest and think about the consequences that your decisions may cause. I will see all of you in two days," Naru said seriously.

"Oh and Mai," he said before standing up, "tea."

With that he then vanished into his office or as I like to call it his brooding cave. Lin then slowly closed his laptop and gracefully moved towards his office without making a sound leaving the rest of the SPR case to deliberate amongst us.

Slowly the rest of the team left in twos or ones each either talking quietly about the case or thinking deeply of the days to come and with nothing else to do I sighed and moved to the kitchenette to get that bastard his tea.

**P.S. NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE UP IN ABOUT THREE MORE HOURS!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So I been MIA for a while and it sort of started when I went back to reread the last chapter. One thing that I really hate is grammar mistakes or when a story doesn't make sense and that's EXACTLY what I got when I read my own story and it really discouraged me from writing further. I went deep into other writers' stories and figured what I liked/hated from their writing styles and figure out a way to still have that little sprinkle of me and then after all of that I had to go back and rewrite the second chapter and now as a reward I give you the 3****rd**** chapter! Don't kill me guys I never knew how hard it was to write a story! **** Please go reread the second chapter as I feel like it is MUCH BETTER! **

The following two days passed tensely in SPR with Naru and Lin making preparations for the trip and Mai worrying about the dangers of exposure. She had called one of her more private contacts and they had repeatedly reassured her that any lose ends left behind would be taken care of and nothing to worry about but you could never completely trust ones safety onto someone else hands. The needed to personally check the situation was dire but it would be near impossible in this case, there would be no way for her to disappear and not raise any questions. She was stuck and that put her on edge. The office was stiffening with untold truths, even if nobody but Mai herself knew that, and the stress over a case this dangerous, but nobody would address it and it was with a silent agreement that everyone would follow Lin's and Naru's lead on the silence.

Now we were all on the road with Naru, Lin, Masako, and myself in the van and the others in Monks car following closely behind as we made our way to Osaka. The tense atmosphere that had seemed unbearable in the office had somehow tripled and I needed an out and soon. Without anything to say, without revealing anything incriminating, I leaned my head against the car window and semi closed my eyes pretending to be asleep while peeking through my eyelashes at the rest of the team members in the car. Masako was directly opposite me on the right side of the backseat with me and I was taking up residence near the other window while Naru was in the passengers' seat and Lin taking the driving wheal.

If we connect the dots we could be a square, I mused silently, on the edge and separated through the cruel sides of the square. Hahaha I'm finally losing it, after all these years what finally makes me lose my mind is thinking we are a _square. _Ok I'm more tired than I thought. It wasn't until 30 minutes later when I was truthfully drifting off while still questioning my sanity that anything was said in the van.

"She's worried about something. She's trying to hide it but its there in her eyes, plain as day. Mai I mean," Masako said.

"I never knew you cared about her Masako," Naru replied back unimpressed.

"I don't think you know what you did when you returned to England Naru," she snapped back irritated, "as much as we all tried to keep in contact with her she suddenly upped and disappeared off the face of the planet for two years and then when she appeared out of thin air just as suddenly as she had disappeared she was changed. I may have had my petty rivalry with her over you when we were younger but I did care about her. When she came back she was as friendly as she usually was but there were times when I would catch her looking at us with something close to resentment. Not complete resentment but it was there, as if she wanted to feel it, but was forbidding herself from going there. Whatever happened between both of you must have shook her up but I'm more worried about what happened when she disappeared for those two years. She never talks about it and that's what alarms me the most."

"Mai disappeared? Why were we never told of this?" Lin asked surprised.

"Yes, because you were very reachable in England with the nonexistent phone numbers you left us. Before you say anything about how we should have told you once you returned let me just tell you, that she had been back for barely a couple of months and we owed it to her to keep quiet, if she wanted to tell you she should be able to tell you when, and if, she wants to and we are, and will, keep respecting her decision even if it means she never tells us anything. Its been barely three months since you been back and we didn't want to chase her away again. I wouldn't be saying anything if it wasn't for the fact that she's starting to act like she did the first month she came back to us."

"You never saw her in the airport?" Naru asked looking at Masako with that penetrating glare that he used to get answers immediately.

"No, when we arrived at the airport your plane had already left and Mai was nowhere to be seen. We placed a missing persons report after not hearing from her in four weeks and when we went to check again we were shut down by the police saying that she was fine and to stop wasting their time."

Clenching my hands into a fist I realized that I needed to stop listening. I didn't need the reminder of what I had done to and for them, thank you very much, I knew what would happen once I left but they didn't understand anything! Was it self-righteous on my part? Probably. Sighing I closed my eyes half listening to their conversation.

"She confessed to me in the..." And no matter how hard I tried to stay awake to hear what he said next it was useless, I was already drifting off.

Time had stopped having any meaning to me. I might have been here for a while. A day? Week? Maybe a little more than that, I hazily concluded through my muddled thoughts, desperately trying to make sense of anything. Everything was starting to lose meaning to me now and that was exactly how I planned on keeping it. I had interfered once again in their plans by refusing to cooperate and now it was a manner of principle to keep up my act. I had not simply _given up_ my freedom, this one was for the protection of my loved ones but I also wasn't going to make this _easy_ on them. If they honestly thought that, then they really needed to check themselves into the loony bin.

Grimacing slightly I spat out the metallic taste in my mouth. Yeah, I observed, that was definitely blood. Wincing slightly I began to acknowledge the pain throughout my body and cataloging my injuries; three bruised ribs, a broken femur, a sprained ankle, multiple cuts running the expanse of both my upper and lower back and abdomen, a slight concussion and last but not least a broken tooth. Lovely, I thought, as I slightly smirked to myself. They were getting careless if they thought that this would keep me down for a large about of time.

Taking in my surroundings with slightly blurred vision I noted my cage, because honestly there was no better word for it than that. The walls were a dark grey color that seemed to be peeling away along with a crack that ran throughout the expanse of the wall to my right, it was almost impossible to see but also impossible to ignore once you knew it was there. I had been counting the crevices on the crack on the first days of my capture. The floor was cold I noted absentmindedly, I had stopped noticing that within the first day of incarceration, because of other more important things, like keeping myself from crying out loud in pain, which tended to take priority on my to do list over something as insignificant as the temperature of the floor.

My hands we suspended above my head and chained to the ceiling and glancing up I could see the blood had started to collect on my elbows from where the chains met my wrists. I was more then positive that if moved to check, both my wrist would have severe lacerations and had started to swell spectacularly from the amount of times I had repeatedly tugged on them.

The sound of a door mechanically sliding open with a quiet hiss reached my ears and I deigned it important enough to look up. There looking extremely smug about the whole situation was the smug bastard himself. Yes, smug bastard, I liked that better than his real name. From now on that's what I'll call him, I thought vindictively.

"So Mai I hope you like the welcoming committee that I so carefully selected just for your entertainment. Isn't their hospitality just splendid!"

"That's the welcoming committee? I thought they were mere watchdogs that got bored and decided to have a go. If this is as bad as it gets I think I'll just sit down and enjoy the ride," I smartly bit out to him.

"And there is the spirit that I missed! No matter how much I push or pull you won't give in. You see Mai if I ever try to do this to anyone else they simply break under the pressure but not you. Oh but not my special little Mai, I can break you down and put you back together and you'll be more than fine. You'll still be ready for more with that sassy attitude of yours!"

"Glad to be of service my dark under-lord."

Crackling loudly he wiped tears out of his eyes before smiling maniacally at me, "Oh what good fun but my darling I'm here with happy news! You are going to be a new innovation to everyone in this building! Not only did we perfect the drug but created something completely different and we MUST try it out."

A new drug? What was this about? Didn't they already cause enough damage as it was with all the other children within the facility?

Then, as if detaching themselves from the shadows themselves, two men with the traditional cliché black suits appeared behind him.

"This is all cool and stuff but don't you think your being very mad scientist about the whole thing? And please, what's with the guys in the suits! Black? You should make them wear pink, at least that way I'll be able to figure out that; no it's not the same bad guys from the rest, but THE bad guys from Ouroboros. I can't really miss the pink and if I did then I deserve to be captured," I deadpanned sarcastically.

Chuckling darkly he wordlessly motioned for one of the slightly irritated, I noted happily, men and soundlessly he started advancing towards my direction with a syringe in his hand. The liquid within the syringe was an interesting shade of violent purple, almost luminescent, and I froze suddenly. This was no longer a laughing matter; whatever was in there was dangerous. I could feel it from a mile away and so I desperately moved as far away from reach as I could, but being chained to the celling by my wrists as I was I couldn't really do much.

Fear rising in my throat my last thought as I felt the slight pinch of a needle being forcefully placed in my upper right arm was that I was utterly and undeniably screwed.

Slowly blinking my eyes open I turned to the hand that was shaking me awake. Following the trail of the appendix I realized that it was connected to none other than Lin. The van was at a complete stop and looking beyond him I could see the building in which we would be staying and had been my prison for many years. I was dreading this. Everything. Nothing. It was confusing to be here again so I mentally began to picture all of the memories from this "facility" and squashed them into a little box in the back of my head and firmly closed it shut.

Now looking at the building in a more objective light I scrutinized each detail. The building was a stereotypical grey with white trimmings in the sides and there were a few windows that were scattered haphazardly throughout the building making it look like the people who had built it had placed them there at random. Counting I estimated that there was at least ten floors that were visible and that was not counting the floors that were underground where, as the agents had specified, were then added to the total amount of floors. In the center of the building as thought someone had stamped it there, was an intricate design that took up most of the space.

The outer design was diamond shaped while the rest of the design look like it was trying to escape the confines that it had set up. There were delicate lines that swirled and intertwined with each others while random markings that looked random at first but in actuality were spaced out exactly four centimeters apart from each other and if you took the time to actually count them you would realize there was a total of six. It looked beautiful, in a delicate but strangely resilient way, but the real meaning of the symbol was much sinister than what it appeared.

Sighing quietly I made my way to the back of the van to open the back doors and started unpacking the equipment before Naru made a smart ass comment about being lazy or his personal favorite of how this is what he paid me for.

The agent, Minaru, came out of the building and smiled at everyone, patiently waiting until he had all of out attention.

"Your base is this way," he said and without another word he started leading the way inside. Closing the van door as quickly as I could I quicken my pace in order to catch up with the rest of the SPR gang. Instantly the air-conditioning rushed and cooled us from the outside and looking around the building smelled and looked like a hospital. The underlying smell of antibiotics reached my nostrils and another secondary smell that is only distinctive to individuals that already knew what it was reached my senses.

White walls and even more impossibly white floors met my sight with the exception of the middle, where there was a strip of red. It mockingly looked like a red carpet as if to insinuate that your destination was glamorous or somewhere that you wanted to go. Shifting the monitor that I had unknowingly carried with me I followed Minaru with determined steps while keeping my face carefully blank. Almost immediately I realized my mistake and as fast as my blank expression had graced my face it immediately shifted to nervousness and I started looking at my surroundings in wonder.

Taking an immediate right we kept walking through the hallway and after encountering the very first room we entered it without much grandeur. The most obvious thing about this room was that it was probably used to be a security post with the most obvious signs being the numerous monitors that took up all of the space of the wall directly facing us. They were all turned on and marked clearly stating the room that they were observing and the time. The wall to the left of it also had monitors but they were all curiously blank.

Curiosity getting the best of me I walked forward and placed the monitor on the coffee table and once freed from my burden I walked towards the closest monitor that was shut off. Feeling my way around the monitor I finally found the power button in the back and gently pushed it but the only reaction I got out of it was muted static. Turning back around after I had pushed the button to turn it off I headed back to where the SPR group was waiting.

"This will be your base of operations" Minaru began, "it is also as you may have guessed one of our old surveillance rooms and has extensive coverage of every room. The monitors to your left as your young friend has already proven are completely useless. They are, what we assume, the surveillance cameras to the underground level to this facility and even though we have tried to get them working we have been unable to do so. If at some point we have access to those floors we can either place your own equipment there or try to fix the problem once we have direct access to the problem."

"Your rooms are in the second floor and meals will be provided to you along with anything you may need. The second floor used to be the residential sector for those scientists that would stay overnight so they are equipped with anything you may need. As a courtesy gesture we will turn off the cameras in your rooms in the morning between eight am and ten thirty am in order to give you privacy to change and other necessities the same can be said for eleven to twelve pm at night. We will also be staying with you on the second floor but we will be taking rooms once you decide in which ones you would like to be situated in. For now Daichi and I have some surveillance and rounds to make," then without another word Minaru exited leaving us to our own devices.

Immediately taking charge Naru began firing orders "ok everyone I want you all to go and unpack your bags from the vehicles and nobody is to room by yourself as everyone will be paired off. Takigawa and John you are to room together, Lin and I will take another room while Mai, Ms. Matsuzaki and Ms. Hara will be sharing the last. You should be back here in an hour at most and I want Takigawa-san and Matsuzaki to make wards around their respective rooms and then the base, as I am not taking any chances with this case. None of you are to be on your own for any reason and has to have at least another team member with you at all times."

Nodding once I made my way with the rest of the SPR team to where the van was located while simultaneously blocking the conversations happening around me. Slinging my bag over my shoulder I patiently waited for the others to catch up and then after following the exit directions found the stairs and trekked up to the second floor. At once the floor took a homier feel with the walls being a soft cream color and coffee tables being strategically placed bellow mirrors and both flowers and candles placed at the centerpieces of each table. It had a slightly sophisticated and modern air to it and Lin opened the first door and glanced inside. Walking behind Masako and Ayako I followed them as they began walking to the door across from the one Lin had claimed for him and Naru and entered. Absentmindedly I noticed that John and Monk had taken the room next to our. The first thing to register was that it was not just a common bedroom as I had expected. The sitting room that we had walked in had soft moss green interior to it and the accompanying furniture was obviously oak. Walking further into the apartment-like room I noticed that there was a door that opened up to where there where two queen beds situated opposite each other.

Placing my bag on the first bed that was within reach I, knowing that I was going to have to share the bed with Ayako, took the right side of the bed as it was the farthest away from the door and with no windows in the room it made it the safes place to be if someone was to break into the room. Unzipping my bag I started to place my clothes into the drawers in the nightstand and, after making sure everything was to my satisfaction, headed back to base with Ayako and Masako.

"Mai?" Ayako asked hesitantly.

Glancing sideways at her I raised my eyebrow and gave a noncommittal grunt signaling my acknowledgement. Looking like they had gathered courage from my non-comment Masako continued after her.

"Look I had a talk with Naru and we talked about the day that he left for England and how you had met up with him there and he told us what happened. The only hole in the story is that he claims you were at the airport the day that he left but we never saw you there but we never even knew you were going to the airport. It is also right after that this when you disappeared. Your disappearance wasn't because of what Naru said right?"

Irritation washed over me, they honestly thought I had run away with my tail in-between my legs because of a rejection? Ok I actually deserved that. The happy go lucky personality that I had showed them made the possibility not that farfetched and right now I resented that. Calming my irritation I mentally counted to five before responding.

"No guys it wasn't like that. Yes, he did hurt my feelings when he turned me down but I did accept his decision. If that is what he thought then who am I to make him believe anything different when he already had everything figured out in his mind? There was something that needed my attention so I had to leave for a while and I am sorry that I couldn't keep in contact with you guys but I really didn't have a way to do so."

"But you know that you can come to us for anything right Mai?" Ayako stated, "you're like my little sister and I would do anything for you and I know Masako feels the same way."

"I know guys and believe me when I say I would do _anything _for you guys." And with that the conversation was over neither knowing how serious and true my last statement was. No matter what I will always place their security and happiness above my own and nothing could change that. Yes, sometimes it was hard controlling my emotions but considering everything I'm doing the best I can.

All too soon we reached the base where the rest of the team was already assembled and Monk was already slapping seals over the walls for protection. Naru glancing up closed his notebook and addressed the team, "since the cameras are already set up this makes things much easier so we are going to be concentrating on temperature readings and finding where the ghost are located. Miss Hara do you sense anything?"

"Yes there are multiple spirits here and they are all in pain. I cannot tell you how many there are because some are being hidden by the presence of others but I do feel a concentration of spirits on the fourth floor. They are all so angry. But apart from this I feel something evil here and I have never felt anything like this before. Vengeful spirits, although I can sense a couple, are nothing compared to this and it honestly frightens me, it's dangerous and you shouldn't try to approach it."

"In that case I would like you to go to the fourth floor and start clearing out the spirits that are there. The quicker we get the spirits that are harmless out of the way it should be easier pinpointing what the evil entity is and thus exterminating it. I want you to take Takigawa with you when you do this. I don't want the spirits that mean no harm to add to the strength of the unknown entity and thus make it stronger."

Making an affirmative motion Monk and Masako left the room and the rest of the team crowded around the monitors and watched them as they climbed the stairs. Opening the door to the fourth floor they walked in on what appeared to be a beautifully decorated ballroom but with chaise lounge chairs scattered around the room. Curiously enough for a such a ball like-room there was only one window and it was high enough that nobody could climb up there without a sizably long ladder and the curtains that were placed on the only window were wine red and obviously thick enough to prevent any kind of sunlight from coming in if they were closed.

"Can you turn on the lights?" Masako asked.

Some time later when Monk was finally able to find the light switch everything came into focus and that was when I realized that the only reason we were able to see how the room looked like was because of the cameras night vision.

Masako then walked to the middle of the room and closed her eyes, looking serene, peaceful, and confident as she stood there. Her aura seemed as thought it was illuminating the room and as she had a content simile she began.

"I know that some of you are scared and hurt about what happened to you or maybe you might not understand what is going on but I am here to talk to you. Right now you are in the middle. You are no longer part of the living but you have not yet reached the eternal rest you rightfully deserve. Don't you think that sounds much better that being stuck in this in-between? I can help you if you would only let me. Let me guide you into happiness and what you so rightfully deserve."

After a soft shimmer a girl that looked to be about five appeared before here with tears in her eyes as she stared longingly at Masako before smiling gently and disappearing. As if that had been the catalyst, more and more children appeared in front of Masako before shimmering out of existence. As this was happening Masako's content smile turned into full blown euphoria as she extended her arms and turned her face towards the ceiling. Finally turning she gave a smile to Bou-san and then started walking towards him. Half ways through, her foot froze and her previous smile immediately vanished. The foot that had been raised to take her next step was suddenly yanked violently backwards and she fell gracelessly face-down into the ground.

A figure that seemed to be of a smoky consistency stood above her with a wicked grin and horribly disfigured face. Leaning over her he stared intently and stopped moving while Masako scrambled to turn her attacker. Monk had already launched forward in order to come to her rescue but a quick "WAIT!" from Masako made him pause.

"You came to me. You knew that I could help you but you don't know how to go to where you need to be. I can sense that you suffered so much more that the ones that have made peace with what happed to them but you can't continue like this! You are giving them the power that they do not deserve or need! Forgive them and watch as you come out as the victorious one in this fight."

While at first it seemed that the entity was listening attentively it suddenly snapped its head up to where Monk had this hands in ready position to start his exorcism. Enraged it roared right in Masako's face and the lounge chairs that had been scattered across the room were violently flung at the walls. With one last snarl it disappeared.

Worriedly I watched as Masako got shakily to her feet and nodded an affirmative to Monk's question if she was all right.

"I want you two to head back to base," Naru said and looking sideways I realized that he was talking to Monk via phone.

Once Monk and Masako had returned the discussion began, "this is troubling, although we knew this case was dangerous and we did make some headway with the spirits that I have just cleansed the last spirit was frightening not only because of the amount of power that it displayed but also because I feel that the entity that approached me actually wanted to pass on and one of the less harmful spirits compared to the other ones I can feel lurking in the background."

"I agree, there is also the way it reacted to how I had placed my hands, it is obvious that it knows what it is and intelligent enough to know that it means danger for it. Not only does this prove that it can avoid my attacks it also shows that the last group of investigators didn't try to make them pass on peacefully first but were being forceful. This means that we will have some heavy resistance for the rest of our stay here."

"This is our first day here and a reaction this violent is concerning but not unusual with the severity of the case. For now everyone is exhausted since it has been a long day of travel and then with this. I suggest everyone go to sleep and get ready to wake up early in the morning tomorrow to start the day afresh" Lin said.

With a disgruntled grunt Naru agreed and everyone gave a sigh of relief and started making their way up to their bedrooms.

As I lay here, listening to their slow, rhythmic breathing, indicating that they were sound asleep, I allowed myself to think about the situation I was in and how I was going to deal with it if things went to hell. If I slipped up then they would know the truth and that was not something I was comfortable with. They didn't need to know how much blood was in my hands and the things I had done to keep them safe. Not only would they feel indebted to me but also they would feel responsible for what happened and I would hear nothing of it. This had been my decision, my burden to bear and there was still the huge possibility that they would hate me for everything and I wouldn't blame them. Hell even I would blame me if I were in their shoes. Thus with my self doubts and hatred I was finally able to close my eyes and fall asleep.


End file.
